Virginia Thomas Agrees to Interview with Jan. 6 Committee

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Facts

  • Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas, has agreed to be interviewed by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
  • Having been vocal about her belief that the election was stolen from Trump, Thomas became a person of interest for the committee after communications between her and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows surfaced, as well as with Arizona and Wisconsin lawmakers.
  • The committee also became aware of emails between Thomas and Trump lawyer John Eastman related to what’s become known as the “fake electors” plan, by which some states would reportedly nominate a Trump-aligned slate of electors.
  • Previously, Thomas confirmed she attended the rally at The Ellipse before the riots but said she left before any violence broke out. She has also criticized the committee’s work and said its two GOP members – Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) – should be removed from the Republican conference.
  • The committee first sought to speak with Thomas in June. Her attorney delayed the meeting, saying the committee must first "provide a better justification" for her testimony.
  • The Jan. 6 committee, which held several public hearings over the summer, will reconvene on Sept. 28 for possibly the last time.

Sources: New York Times, FOX News, CNN, and Daily Caller.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Daily Kos. The committee’s great work has led to the Dept. of Justice investigation into Jan. 6 and several grand juries nationwide. Ginny Thomas had strong connections to plots to stop the election from being certified, so testifying before the committee might be her best chance to avoid criminal charges. She's a major piece of the puzzle to getting to the truth.
  • Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Federalist. Ginny Thomas is a public citizen who so far has only been proven to have exercised her legal right to question election results. Calling her before the committee seems more like a nefarious plot to attack SCOTUS – by getting her husband to recuse himself from related cases – than a legitimate part of this witchhunt of an investigation.